Trailers of the type having a platform surface, generally has at least one pair of wheels with, an axle and suspension, and the wheels are commonly used for commercial and domestic transportation purposes to carry a wide variety of goods; from one place to another, and typically pulled behind a car, truck, van, motorcycle or the like. Most often trailers are rented or are purchased outright. There are several problems associated with renting or owning a trailer. If the trailer is rented, one must first drive to the rental agency with the towing vehicle, upon which time the empty trailer will be attached to the towing vehicle. One will then drive the towing vehicle either home or to the destination of where one is picking up the items to be moved. The first problem is that one is towing an empty trailer which is hard to drive in traffic as it is low in height and not easily visible. Since it is not loaded, it is light and tends to hop and jump around, especially on rough roads or when hitting a hole or bump. This is a dangerous situation as one can lose control of the trailer resulting in a possible accident involving the trailer and the tow vehicle.
Once again after the item is delivered the empty trailer has to be returned to the rental agency. If the trailer is owned, one has to again return home or go to the place to pickup the item with an empty trailer, entailing an additional problem of its storage after use. In a house the garage ideally would serve as a storage place for most large trailers as storing the trailer outside would invite objections from communities. It has been observed that most people already have their garage full of lawn equipment, snow blowers, lawnmowers etc. and to store a trailer might be difficult, if not impossible. The normal trailer is a single unit, and is usually just a flat bed.
Many attempts have been made to address the above-mentioned issues relating to vehicle trailers, and to develop a trailer assembly that meet the requirements of portability, adaptability, retrofittability and transportability.
US Patent Publication No. 20030102655 discloses a folding with pivotally connected front, main and rear sections movable from an unfolded condition to a folded condition, in which the rear section pivots two hundred seventy degrees (270°) to lie atop the main section, and the front section pivots ninety degrees (90°) to nest within the main section. This provides a folded compact arrangement approximately forty-eight (48) by eighty (80) inches. When unfolded, the trailer produces an inside dimension of approximately sixty (60) by ninety-six (96) inches enabled by the front section thin walls that are interiorly nearly as wide as the main and rear sections. An extensible handle facilitates folding and unfolding the rear section. This patent is configurationally different from the present invention and does not address the above-cited issues in an effective manner.
U.S. Patent No. 20050093273 discloses a trailer assembly including a bed sub-assembly having a plurality of sections movably coupled to one another for permitting movement between an extended configuration and a folded configuration. In the folded configuration, the plurality of sections collectively form a bottom surface, an upper surface, and surrounding side walls of an enclosable compartment, at least one of the sections having an access member movable between an open position for permitting access to the compartment and a closed position for enclosing the compartment as the sections are maintained in the folded configuration. The trailer assembly optionally may include a wheel subassembly and drawbar, which may be freely and independently rotatable relative to one another and the bed sub-assembly. The configurational aspects of the trailer assembly with regard to the bed assembly, the optional features of wheel assembly and the draw bar does not address the requirement of a portable trailer assembly for meeting the space constraints and easy transportability.
The features of the aforecited prior art disclose a complex design and structural indices that hinder their performance in meeting the above-mentioned requirements. The prior arts does not provide a configuration that has simple structural indices for reliable operation i.e. can be easily assembled and de-assembled, can be easily folded and is portable enough to be carried and stored in a small space, multi-functional, retrofittable at the same time light weight and affordable too. Therefore, the present scenario is punctuated by an emerging need for a multipurpose, portable and adjustable trailer assembly that addresses these issues with effectiveness, ease and comfort.